Thursday, July 06, 2006
2:38 AM
3 hours 38 minutes and 39 seconds
That was how long I took to complete this year's OSIM Triathlon (1.5km swim, 40km cycle, 10km run) at East Coast Park last Sunday. To put my timing into perspective, click on the link below, and scroll all the way to the bottom, 65 would be a helpful number in case you can't find my name, hehe...
http://jsp.triathlonsingapore.org/news_events/events_results/ost2006/sunday/Osim_Sun_AGE_%20GroupM20.htm
Well, if you're wondering why I'm so elated (actually, I'm not just elated, I'm absolutely ecstatic) about coming in 5th last for my age group, then you will have to see my results last year to understand why:
http://www.singaporetriathlon.com/results/2005/results/Age_Group_Results_CategoryM20.htm
And to put THAT into perspective, you will have to check the results of EVERYONE ELSE who took part in the Olympic Distance Triathlon, and try to find the number of people who actually came in slower than me. Notice that the age group goes all the way up to 50, 55, and even 60+ for males? Yes, among all the uncles and aunties, there were only a grand total of 3 (I counted many times, last year and this year) people who were slower than me!
When I started the run this year, I was only aiming to finish the race this time just under 4 hours, so that I could tell people I finished a triathlon in '3 hours something', ie barely under 4 hours. And also, so that based on last year's results, I would at least not come in last for my age group. So having 'aimed low', I am thus extremely delighted to have shaved a good 43 minutes off my timing as compared to last year! That is a whopping 16.5% reduction in my timing!
And to top it all off, this year's race has been extremely eventful (in a masochistically humourous way), and looking back, I think this timing would very likely be the best performance I'll ever be able to squeeze out with my current (low) fitness level. Let me begin to describe in more detail how the race unfolded for me:
1st Leg: 1.5km Swim along East Coast Beach
(2 laps of 375m out into the sea and back)
The first thing that greets you when you plunge headfirst into the brownish algae green waters off East Coast Beach is the jolting taste of regurgitated vomit in your mouth. You can barely see your own arms ahead of you as you swim in the murky waters. So it was like that, with the barrage of the oft-described 'flailing arms and legs', that I quickly ended up swimming at the back, and struggling unsuccessfully to keep up with very many people.
During the first lap, as I was swimming back to shore, my swimming cap started to come off. Unable to adjust it back into place, I took it off altogether, along with my goggles, and tried to put it properly back on again. I spent a good 3-4 minutes before I finally succeeded, but as I had put my cap on too tight over my forehead, I wasn't able to put on my goggles properly, and till I reached the shore, my right goggle was filled with water.
During the second lap, my swimming cap problem was resolved at the shore. However, due to the choppiness of the sea, and the fact that I used breaststroke to swim, I began to feel rather seasick. Having also accidentally swallowed a few mouthfuls of that horrid liquid, I was really on the verge of puking. There and then, the words 'fall out' kept coming mysteriously into my consciousness. Fortunately, they were unheeded.
2nd Leg: 40km Cycle along East Coast Park Service Road
(4 laps of 5km to the end of ECP Service Road and back)
I still remember vividly how, last year, on a borrowed mountain bike (from my cousin), I really struggled to complete the 40km. I ran out of water very quickly, and even had to come off the bike and ask a police marshaler for bottled mineral water. My thighs were experiencing sharp pains towards the third and fourth laps. My morale was experiencing sharp pains as well because every single encounter with another bicycle was my being overtaken. I did not overtake nor manage to keep up with a single cyclist! Naturally, into my 3rd and 4th round, I was mostly the only left on the whole cycling circuit. It was extremely demoralising.
This year, I rented a bicycle from one of those shops along East Coast Park. It was mountain bike with smooth wheels, sort of like a half-breed between mountain bikes and proper racer bikes. With that bike, I managed to keep up with and eventually overtake a Malay uncle on a racer, a young man on mountain bike, and a friendly chinese uncle on a racer in turn. We'd overtake each other every 2-3 minutes, until I'd overtake them and not see them again. There were of course, this time, many other cyclists I overtook once, and permanently, which did wonders to my morale this year.
The best part, however, was being able to see the clock at the end of each lap, because I could tell exactly how long I took for that lap. After my second lap, I realised, with an extended loud cheer to myself (which is as much of a celebration as I could afford, being on a bicycle and not knowing how to balance myself with both hands away from the handlebar), that I was taking 22 minutes for each lap! So throughout rest of the cycling leg, I kept calculating to confirm that should I maintain at this speed, I would finish the cycling leg 30 minutes faster than last year, and all I needed to do was to maintain the rest of my timings to achieve my goal! I would grin happily to myself every time after I finished calculating, and then proceed to calculate again to confirm that I was right.
3rd Leg: 10km Run along East Coast Park
(2 laps of 2.5km to Singapore Tennis Centre and back)
Last year, I took one too many cups of the gassy H20 that the well-meaning marshalers offered me as I jogged. So after my first round, my stomache was fizzing uncomfortably, and I just could not maintain a jog for more than 2 minutes, and ended up walking for most of the 10km. This year, I think the organisers must've realised how silly it was to provide gassy isotonic drinks, so they gave non-gassy H2O instead.
So my excuse for this year is that almost right after I started jogging, the muscles above my right knee began to cramp. I could only limp as quickly as I could, until my left knee started to cramp as well. Thus I was reduced to a slower walk for the next 5 minutes, after which, I tried to run again for the next few minutes and the cycle began again. My muscles were really taking turns to cramp, because I'd feel a new muscle begin to cramp along with all the old ones every time.
So I began to whisper many words of prayer, as well as drink up as much H20 as I could along the way.
Miraculously, after trudging past the first lap in this manner, I was somehow able to continuously jog at a steady pace for the last 5km of the race, without feeling even a hint of my muscles threatening to cramp, until I started to speed up towards the end. Nevertheless, I actually managed to work into sprint at the finish line that captured the attention of the commentator, inducing him, to my chagrin, to announce: "Coming in next... AND working INTO a fantastic sprint, is an individual! It is... Choo Zee Choon at the finish line!!!"
...
Well, should I manage to discipline myself into training regularly during my time in university, I think the annual OSIM triathlon is very much going to be an annual party for the few of us (Zhi Xian, Rui Jie, if he comes back, other friends and me). And I know where that $500 'CCA Subsidy' of my scholarship is going to go... a proper racer bike.
Comments:
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8 comment)
hehe, uh oh, looks like i'm going to get scolded for my ignorance...
the muscles around my knee area felt numb, and then subsequently, involuntarily tensed up painfully... so i suppose that would count as a cramp... and since it's my muscles around my knees, i assume it's my knee ligaments? haha, or is there such a thing as knee ligaments?
=p
the muscles around my knee area felt numb, and then subsequently, involuntarily tensed up painfully... so i suppose that would count as a cramp... and since it's my muscles around my knees, i assume it's my knee ligaments? haha, or is there such a thing as knee ligaments?
=p
# posted by 
: 9:03 AM
: 9:03 AM
Haha! Ligaments cannot cramp lah. It's your muscles dear...
Hahaha!
Am in the hos..now...
Arghhh!
Love,
Jan
Hahaha!
Am in the hos..now...
Arghhh!
Love,
Jan
# posted by : 3:44 PM
: 3:44 PM
lol. i checked ur 2005 results and saw two familiar names. this time, they are regular specs from my unit last time. Chua Yuechang and Neo Kim Choon. u may wanna see their results compared to urs. weeee...
# posted by : 5:25 PM
: 5:25 PM
Wow congrats Zichun! That really is a great improvement haha :) not to mention anyone who can even complete that... Respect man!
# posted by : 1:03 AM
: 1:03 AM
heyhey, just to say i've still been reading every now and then and congratulations on improving your time by... almost 25%!
and keep your self-deprecating humour going, it's one thing that neve fails to make me laugh :)
if i ever get back into shape, i've learnt my lesson about using those studdy-wheeled mountain bikes, so it'll be a road bike.
take care! will email soon (definition of soon being temporally quite variable). - ty/zn
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and keep your self-deprecating humour going, it's one thing that neve fails to make me laugh :)
if i ever get back into shape, i've learnt my lesson about using those studdy-wheeled mountain bikes, so it'll be a road bike.
take care! will email soon (definition of soon being temporally quite variable). - ty/zn
# posted by : 11:08 PM
: 11:08 PM